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Blake’s 7 Victorious: New Skills

The holidays have conspired to delay the classes post for the Blake’s 7 Victorious rules. Well, that and the Victorious short adventure “The Nights Before Christmas” that the wife is busily working on formatting.

To give our readers something to read, I’m including the few skills modifications I’ve come up with to better reflect sci-fi in Victorious.

For the most part, Blake’s 7 Victorious uses the same skills as the standard game. However, a few more specific types are required to give the setting its ‘feel.’ These are as follows:

Science (Intelligence): This skill normally covers a wide degree of knowledge in the sciences in the Victorious setting. The far future requires a bit greater specialization, and much of this is left to the Genteel Magistrate’s individual chronicle. The one issue treated in specifics here will be starships.

Starships are by their nature complex machines, and a source of much detail in sci-fi games; and Blake’s 7 is no exception. Characters are not allowed a simple “Science: Starships” as this is too encompassing for one person to have for a mere 1 skill point buy. Thus starships skills are broken down in the following areas:

Computers: Starship computers tend to be the most sophisticated of all systems, and commensurately subject to breakdowns if not properly maintained. Self-aware systems such as Zen on the Liberator or Slave on Scorpio can monitor and correct their basic systems themselves, but even they can use an organic’s helping hand with battle damage or alien radiations that interfere with their systems. This skill can cover non-starship computers of sufficient complexity as well.

Drive: In the Blake’s 7 universe, a ship’s engines encompass both maneuver drives and FTL travel at Time Distort speeds. Yet even the best engines are temperamental and require regular maintenance. The Liberator’s systems were self-repairing to a certain degree, yet the Drive skill can be of help even on such rarified systems as Liberator boasts. With this skill, combat damage to drives can be repaired upon successful skill checks, with each repair point taking a set amount of time as determined by the Genteel Magistrate.

Superstructure: This skill shows proficiency in the metallurgy, design, and capacity of a starship’s hull and integrity. This is quite useful when it comes to hull repairs, armor reinforcement, or even minor modifications. The skill is also required if any attempt is made to make a starship ‘streamlined;’ that is, capable of landing on a planet’s surface.

Systems: This skill covers all the electronic systems on a starship that are not directly a part of the ship’s main computer. These can be astrogation systems to plot courses, life support to maintain air and temperature, and even simple lighting and door operation. Not as glamorous as some of the other starship skills, but vital in any ship be it a Wanderer class freighter all the way to a Federation battleship.

Weapons: Not all starships have weapons, but for those that do a weapons skill is invaluable in getting the most out of them. Vessels with self-aware computers (Zen/Slave) can fire their own weapons to a limited degree, but only have a base chance to hit targets (BTH +1). The skill also can involve maintenance of weapons systems as well as simple repairs. Force Walls, though not weapons, also fall under this skill’s purview.

Piloting (Dexterity): With this skill the character can pilot most starships from small to large size, with unusual maneuvers requiring a skill check to complete depending on the complexity of the check. Huge starships and greater require not only a pilot but also 2-4 sub-pilots to do anything more than move the ship in a given direction. AI’s are considered to have a rank 1 in this skill.

Survival 0-G (Intelligence): This is the standard training program that every spacefarer in the Blake’s 7 universe has; from crew on a tramp freighter to a Federation pursuit ship. Its parameters encompass zero-g maneuvering, space suit use, EVA maneuvers outside the hull, and other similar skill sets. Spacers with this skill can even attempt repairs to ships in zero-g assuming they have the pertinent skills listed above.